disentwine
Undo the twist
To disentwine is to separate things that have been twisted or wound together—the opposite of entwine.
Vines disentwine from a trellis, fingers disentwine from a grasp.
The word often appears in figurative contexts: It took years to disentwine her identity from her mother's expectations.
A somewhat literary term, with untwine and untangle serving as plainer alternatives.
Separate intertwined strands
- detangleRemove knots from
- disentangleFree from snarls
- unwindRelease accumulated tension
- unweaveUndo woven fabric
unbraid · unlace · untwist · unsnarl · loosen · extricate · unknot · uncoil
unravel
Separate intertwined strands
- detangleRemove knots from
- disentangleFree from snarls
- unwindRelease accumulated tension
unweave · unbraid · unlace · untwist · unsnarl · loosen · extricate · unknot · uncoil · separate
free
Without payment or restriction
unshackle · unfetter · loose · emancipate · disengage · unchain · unbind · let go · set free
disconnect
To break a connection
sever · part · divide · dissociate · disunite · split · unlink · unbind · undo · isolate
disentwineentwine
Wind around each other
intertwine · twine · interweave · braid · weave